She Seems So Happy

Everyone has done their job getting the word out that Miranda Lambert has a new album out ("Wildcard"). She showed up just about everywhere last week: Late night and early morning TV, People magazine, a TV segment on the Meredith-owned local stations, local radio, "Sunday TODAY." Everywhere.

We saw her smiling face and heard the joy and contentment not always seen. Miranda is such a talent, and is truly one of the best Country music songwriter/singer/performers to come along in a very long time. She doesn't really fit into a single box or style. She's as Country as Loretta Lynn, and can hang in there with skinheads or a girl group. Let's hope she stays in her current happy state for a long time, maybe forever.

With plans for so many artists in ink for 2020 already, there is still much to do to finish 2019. This is "play dress up" month, when the blue jean and t-shirt crowd has to put on fancy red carpet clothes, wear makeup and be camera-ready. It's no small order for most in the 16th Ave set. The songwriters have to step up, and the suits have to look important. There's much to do. And for the often-private better halves, it's really a "get everything ready for the public" spotlight.

The November 13th CMA Awards may be the featured night, but the performing rights society people also have award events on the three prior nights. There's also the American Music Awards less than two weeks later, on November 24th. Can't wear the same thing every night. The cameras and the internet are watching. It's prom night for the Nashville music business. Cue hair and makeup and Valium, the works.

Other than Dan + Shay, who are going to be the headline winners this month? At CMAs who knows? At the American Music Awards, Taylor Swift is already in the headlines for getting the Artist of the Decade award. She may also beat Michael Jackson's win record, and ultimately get some industry music nominations for the song few have yet heard: the one she wrote with Andrew Lloyd Webber for the upcoming movie version of "Cats." This -- in the perfect world for her -- goes to the Oscars, the real prize for the 16th Ave graduate. We knew her when!

The world of CMA Entertainer of the Year for Life (there is no such award, but should be) Garth Brooks includes a glowing Dive Bar concert review in the Cleveland Plain Dealer about his Ohio Dusty Armadillo show. The writer said he might have seen the best show in his life since 1974's Grand Funk Railroad concert in Richmond, VA. For a professional newspaper music reviewer, that's a big statement.

So now we wait for Brooks' November 16th Neyland Stadium show in Knoxville that has just a handful of tickets left in the 100,000-plus stadium. Note to all: I've seen his stadium show, and the seats "behind" the stage are great. Those are most of the ones left to sell. Garth spends a lot of time going to that part of the stage. Face value $79 tickets are available at Ticketmaster. A good deal.

Garth will sing "Dive Bar" with Blake Shelton on the CMAs. Do people really make the CMAs appointment television to see a Halsey or Pink? Willie Nelson singing with Kasey Musgraves is cool, but the "must book" pop folks? Yawn.

There's a new baby for Kane Brown, and recent weddings for a few of the baby acts. The drought is over and the cold weather is here, at least for this weekend. It is November, and the Grand Ole Opry is off to the Ryman Auditorium until late winter.

November can be a very exhausting month and is Music Row's most important one of the year. Industry execs must finish the big picture marketing plans for the next year, book those rodeos, deal with the awards mania, and all that other stuff.

The weather needs to cooperate too. Rain for the CMAs is awful! I can still remember one monsoon that hit right after one of the shows Bridgestone Arena years and blew our TV lights down. The weather also needs to be great or at least good for Garth in Knoxville. Good luck to us all on that.

Turkey time, travel ... it all happens in November. And there is the Alabama/LSU college football game of the century, plus Auburn/Alabama, Mississippi/Miss State's Egg Bowl ... all the college rivalry games.

There is 12 pounds of stuff to go into a 10-pound box. Good luck to you all!